After a court heard Birmingham crook Craig Smith had “no realisable assets”, Judge Peter Carr ordered him to pay back a nominal sum of £1 within 28 days, or face a further seven days in prison.

A BANK robber has been told he can pay back just £1 of the £114,000 he stole – and has been given a month to find the money.

Birmingham crook Craig Smith, 30, was jailed for nine years last March after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to rob a branch of HSBC in January 2011.

He and another man, both wearing balaclavas, went into the bank in Station Road, Balsall Common, after a car driven by an accomplice ploughed through the window as staff filled cash machines.

The robbers
fled with boxes containing tens of thousands of pounds, none of which has ever been recovered.

This
week a Proceeds of Crime hearing was told that Smith, formerly of Stechford, benefited from the raid to the tune of £114,097.

But after the court heard Smith now had “no realisable assets”, Judge Peter Carr ordered him to pay back a nominal sum of £1 within 28 days, or face a further seven days in prison.

Craig Smith took part in the smash-and-grab bank raid in 2010

The smash-and-grab
raid took place at the HSBC branch on January 17, 2011. Staff were loading cash machines when a car driven by James Lawlor, 29 and from Balsall Common, ploughed through the window.

A male member of staff suffered minor injuries. No members of the public were inside and no weapons were used.

Smith and another man then entered the bank and stole cash boxes before fleeing in the car, which was later found abandoned.

A back-up
car driven by a fourth man was also found dumped nearby.

Both vehicles had been stolen from Leamington and their number plates had been changed to avoid detection.

Smith and Lawlor were arrested months later.

Lawlor denied conspiracy to rob but was found guilty following a trial at Coventry Crown Court and was jailed for 12 years.

Speaking at the time both men were jailed, Det Insp Martin Brennan, of West Midlands Police, said: “It is only by sheer good luck that no one was seriously injured or even killed by these desperate men.”